College rankings are out

Personally, I am extremely skeptical of college rankings, because there are so many ways to game the system and a number on a long list often says little about the overall quality of an education. Schools make it easier to apply, including some notable examples, so that they appear more selective. Such rankings are extremely influential on college choice, and are important to many parents.

This is from Tracy Ormsbee, an editor here and a fan of the lists. She’ll soon be entering the college admissions game, from the parent perspective.

2 Responses

I think these lists all need to be taken with a grain of salt. Although there are ways to “game the system”, I am sure most colleges/universities know what other schools are doing and they are gaming the system in their own way too. Not all, but many, if I had to take a guess. So, therefore, all of the rankings are a bit tainted but they do give some idea as to where each school falls relative to eachother. Not a perfect system, but one that helps parents a little bit.

The rankings are a great way for Newsweek to sell magazines. With the majority of college graduates moving back with their parents because they are unemployed or underemployed its no wonder the SUNY’s have become so competitive. Better keep your GPA around 90% and SAT’s over 1050 if you want to get in. Otherwise feel free to pay in excess of $35k to send your studets to a private school. At least then you can point to how well the school did in the rankings.